Manufacture of rails.



Patented Sept. l8, I900.

m N A M A E E R m Su m JMM AM M 3 She eta-Sheet NUE TmI

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wnnsssas %W 5 55 No. 657,964. Patented Sept. l8, I900. J. S.- SEAMAN.MANUFACTURE OF RAILS (Application filed June- 1, 1900. (No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet 2.

i INVENTOR wml A No. 657,964. Patented Sept. l8, I900.

J. s. SEAMAN.

MANUFACTURE OF RAILS.

{Application filed June 7, 1900.) (NowModeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.,

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FIGS.

'wnnsssss: Maven-ran WM 1 v k .LOMAtt UNITED STATES;

PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH s; SEAMAN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE 0F RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming parent Letters Patent No. 657,964, dated'september 18, 1900. A li ati m June 7,1900.-5erialNo.i19,3lM. (Nomodel.)

the metal, whereby an increased workingof the metal of the head portionof the rail is effected, such working being efiected at such a time intherolling operation as will produce an effect similar to that known'inthe metal working art as cold-rolling.

It is characteristic of the method now practiced in the production ofrails that in the rolling operation that portion of the metal which isto enterinto the head of the finished rail is subjected to an activerolling'operation only in six passes of the twentyfour now usuallyemployed in reducing an ingot to a fin-.

ished rail; In all the other passes the active rolling operation is onthe sides of the metal of the ingot, thereby effecting a lateral andlongitudinal displacement of the metal, while the portions of the metalwhich go to form the foot or flange are subjected only to, the,restraining action of the side walls of the passes. It is alsocharacteristic of the method now in use that the rolling is effected atas high 'atemperature as is possible in order to produce an increasedtonnage. By reason of workingthe metal at high temperatures and also byreason" of the non-working of the metal which goespto form the head ofthe rail such metal is,flcomparatively speaking, soft and spongy andincapable of withstanding the wear incident to the heavy engines androlling-stock nowemployed. It has been attemptedtoovercOme thisobjectionable feature by forming a comparatively-narrow rib along thesurface of the head projecting beyond the plane of finish of the headand then forcing this rib down into the head, while preventing'anymaterial enlargement of the head. The result of this method is simplythe formation of a comparatively-narrow band of condensed or hardenedmetal along the metal of the face of the head and without any working ofother portions of themetal of the head. It has also been attempted ,toincrease the durability of the head of the rail by forming during thefinishing passes of an ordinary rail-mill the head higher andjnarrowerthan desired in the fin ished product and then bya subsequent rollingvoperation on the face or upper surface of such'high head reducing theheight and correspondingly increasing the horizontal dimensions of thehead to those required in the finished product. By this method therewill be no material hardening or condensing of the metal, nor will therebe any working of such metal except along the comparativelynarrowportion of the head-blank as produced inthe last passes of thefinishing-rolls. By my improvement I provide for the working by theactive operation of the rolling-surfaces of the rolls on the metal ofthe tread-face as well as of the sides of the head, and also for ahardening andcompacting of the metal of all such portions of the headwith which the wheels of thejcar will come in contact.

The invention ishereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figures 1, 2, and 3 illustrate, diagrammatically, the several passes ofthe rolls now employed in reducing the ingot to a finished rail. Figs. 4and 5 show the form or shape of the five finishing-passes asvemployedvin the practice of my invention, and Fig.6 shows the last orfinishing pass in which therail is brought to finished size and shape. i

In the practice of :my invention the ingot is reduced to orapproximately to the finished.

rail by the same number of passes, said passes being formed in a two orthree high mill of substantiallythe same shape and contour as those nowemployed, except for the passes in the finishing-rol'ls. It will beobserved by.

of the ingot or blank, while the head and foot portions :1: and y aresubjected to only a slight restraining or compressing action by the sidewalls of the several passes. While the shape or contour of thefinishing-passes from 19 to 23 are similar to those now employed, Iprovide for a quantity of metal in the head portion of the blank or theportion thereof which goes to form the head in excess of that requiredto produce the head under the present practice, such excess of metalbeing distributed, preferably, in such manner that the tread-surface,within which term is included the portions of the rail subjected to wearby the tread and flange of the car-wheel, is subjected in the finalreducing pass to the greatest reduction. The shape and dimensions of thepasses heretofore employed are shown in full and dotted lines in Figs.Land 5, and the shape and dimensions of the passes employed by me in thepractice of my invention when the excess of metal is limited to thetread-surface are shown in full lines. The dotted line a indicates theline of finish of the head according to the present practice, and thefull line b indicates the line of finish of the head in the practice ofmy invention. It will be observed that the increased body or portion 0of metal provided for in the passes employed by me extends entirelyacross the head portion of the blank and slightly down onto the sides ofsuch head. This additional body of metal in the head is preserved in allthe finishing-passes now employed. In the last pass the rail is broughtto approximately the finished size and shape, except as hereinbeforestated.

It is preferred after the rail has left the pass 23 to allow it to cooldown to as low a temperature as is permissible for further reduction tofinished size, so that in this final reduction the metal willbesubjected to Whatis generally termed a cold-rolling. Thiscoldrolling iseffected in a universal mill, preferably one of the type or constructionshown and described in Letters Patent No. 318,513, granted to me May 26,1885. In such a mill the head and flange are subjected to an activerolling reduction by the vertical rolls 24 and 25, while the web andsides of the head and flange are subjected to the rolling action of thehorizontal rolls 26 and 27. As all parts nearly finished size and shapethe reduction efiected by the horizontal rolls 26 and 27 and thevertical roll 25, which operate on the flanges, the web, and the underside of the head of the rail,will be comparatively slight; but thereduction effected by the vertical roll 24 will be sufficient to bringthe vertical dimensions of the head to that desired in the finishedrail. By thus actively rolling the tread-surface of the rail, even wereno material reduction effected, a beneficial working of the metal wouldbe produced; but by increasing the vertical dimensions of the head inthe manner stated and rolling this additional body of metal into thehead and at the same time preventing any increase of the horizontaldimensions of the head a great in- .crease in working and reduction iseffected produced, thereby rendering the head much more durable inservice. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that thenumber of passes by which the ingot is reduced to the finished productmay be varied-11 e., decreased and increased; but in all cases provisionshould be made by suitably con-,

structing some of the passes for a body of metal in the head of the railin excess of that now required to form the head and the foreing of suchadditional body of metal into the head, while all surfaces of the latterare subjected to the action of rolling as distinguished from rubbingsurfaces. In addition to this working and hardening of the metal of thehead this last or final rolling can be employed for giving the desiredcamber to the rail. This greater reduction effected by the roll 24 inrolling in the portion of metal 0 will cause the rail to curve, suchcurvature being due to the greater elongation on the portion subjectedto greatest reduction. In case the reduction of the head effected in thehead-working pass in the universal mill should produce too greatcurvature or camber the passes in the finishingrolls can be soproportioned that the flange portions will be a little thicker thandesired in the finished product, thereby necessitating a materialreduction of the flange portions in the universal mill. By suitablyproportioning the reduction of the flange portions to be effected in theuniversal mill, such reduction of the flange proportionatelyneutralizing the curving eflect incident to the reduction of the head,any desired curvature or camber of the rail can be produced.

While it is preferred that the additional body of metal 0 should beuniformly distributed over the tread-surface of the head of the rail, itmay be arranged along the side or under portions of the head byenlarging the portions of the finishing-passes at the places where thebody of metal 0 is to be added. of the rail except the tread portion areof I claim herein as my invention 1. As an improvement in the art ofmaking rails, the method described herein which consists in providingduring the rolling operation an additional body of metal uniformlydistributed or substantially so over the entire tread-surface of therail, and beyond the final plane of finish, and then as a finalfinishing operation forcing such additional body into the head by theaction of a rolling-surface and without any material enlargement of thehead, substantially as set forth.

2. As an improvement in the art of making rails the method describedherein, which consists in providing during the rolling operation a bodyof metal uniformly distributed over the head of the rail in addition tothat required in the ordinary reduction of the rail and then as a finaloperation forcing such addition to that required in the ordinary reduc-'tion of the rail, allowing the partially-finished rail to cool and thenas a final operation forcing such additional body of metal into the headwithout permitting of any material enlargement thereof by the action ofrollingsurfaces acting simultaneously on all parts of the surface of thehead, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH s. SEAMAN.

Witnesses:

DARWIN S. WonooTr'r', H. M. CORWIN.

